An Unforgettable Day
by WhovianGirl
Summary: America isn't invaded, it's occupied! When Amy is kidnapped, the Doctor and his friends must work out a way to stop the sinister Silence. Lyra finds herself faced with a choice. AU Day of the Moon. The Lady of Time part 2.
1. Chapter 1

**This story is dedicated solely to Charlotte, who is 17 today (16/2/2014). This one's for you, sweetie. Have a great day.**

* * *

Amelia Pond raced across the sparse land of the Valley of the Gods, two black jeeps in hot pursuit. She threw desperate glances over her shoulder, growing ever more anxious as the jeeps gained on her. She turned in the direction she was running just in time, as she came to the edge of a large drop. Amy skidded to a halt, looking left and right in the hope of finding a way out, but she saw none. She turned as the jeeps came to a stop, and Canton and his associates stepped out of the two vehicles.

"Canton." she greeted coldly.

Looking cool as a cucumber, Canton strode forward. "Mrs. Pond."

Amy watched as the suited men who had accompanied Canton on his chase pulled something from the trunk of one of the jeeps, setting it on the floor. "Is that a body bag?"

"Yes it is." confirmed Canton.

Dread filled Amy's heart. "It's empty." she noted apprehensively.

Canton glanced over his shoulder at the body bag. "How 'bout that."

"Do you even know why you're doing this, eh?" Amy asked urgently. "Can you even remember? The warehouse."

_Three Months Earlier_

At the abandoned warehouse, the Doctor and Lyra hurriedly helped a – now conscious – Canton back onto his feet. Amy stood, horror at what she had done still etched on her face, holding the gun up as the astronaut slowly stumbled towards them. River and Rory emerged from the manhole seconds later, and hurried to reunite with the Doctor.

"What the hell is going on?!" a very confused, and still slightly dazed Canton asked as he ran with the group.

The Doctor froze as he turned and saw some of the creatures behind Canton. "Look behind you!" he warned.

"There's nothing behind me!" he insisted, wondering why on Earth they had stopped running.

"Look!" repeated the Doctor urgently. "Canton, look!"

Hearing the frantic tone in the Doctor's voice, Canton grew tense, slowly turning to face whatever lurked behind him. His expression turned to shock when he saw the creature.

OoOoOo

At the Valley of the Gods, Canton ignored Amy's panicked request that he remember the events of three months previous. Instead, he raised his arm, gun in hand, and fired at Amy. The ginger fell to the floor, her arm stretched out and showing peculiar marks in black ink.

OoOoOo

Within the highly guarded walls of Area 51 in the great state of Nevada, deep within the government facility, sat the Doctor, bound in a straightjacket and surrounded by armed guards. In the three months since the events at the warehouse, his hair had grown out and looked unkempt, and his chin was now covered by a bushy beard. The captured Time Lord watched as Canton approached, his men in tow.

"We found Amy Pond." he informed the prisoner, throwing onto the floor a picture of the shot Amelia Pond. "She had strange markings on her arm. Do you know what they are?"

The Doctor looked down at the picture. If he had any feelings about the fate of his companion, he hid them well. "Why don't you ask her."

OoOoOo

In an abandoned New York building Dr. River Song ran through the unfinished halls, the same markings on her arm that Amy bore. With her scanner in hand, River looked around as the creatures began surrounding her. "I see you." she said, taking the pen that hung around her neck and adding more tallies. "I see you." she repeated.

Canton and his team walked through the building, searching for the mysterious doctor. "Dr. Song!" he called, gesturing for his colleagues to spread out so they could come at her from all directions. "Dr. Song!"

At Canton's calls, River turned around to look for the agent. Her eyes now off the creatures, they disappeared and River started to run.

Hearing his target take off, Canton turned to his men. "Go, go, go!" he ordered, taking chase with the rest of his team. Canton smiled when his team got River cornered at the edge of the building. "It's over." he told her matter-of-factly.

Apparently trapped, River turned to face Canton and his men. "They're here, Canton. They're everywhere." she warned.

"I know." he replied. "America is being invaded." Canton said sarcastically.

River shook her head. "You were invaded a long time ago. America is occupied!" she growled.

"You're coming with us, Dr. Song. There's no way out this time." said Canton smugly.

River simply smiled. "There's always a way out." she stated with a wink. And with that, she stretched her arms out and leaned back, falling off the building.

OoOoOo

"We found Dr. Song."

"These bricks, what are they made of?" asked the Doctor, looking at the black bricks his captors were placing around him. Still keeping his eyes on the bricks, the Doctor switched gears quickly. "Where is she?"

"She ran. Off the fiftieth floor." Canton informed him.

As though he hadn't heard Canton's answer, the Doctor went back to commenting on the bricks. "I'd say zero balance dwarf star alloy. The densest material in the Universe. Nothing gets through that. You're building me the perfect prison." He finally turned to face Canton. "And it still won't be enough."

OoOoOo

Rory ran desperately over Glen Canyon dam, Arizona, surrounded by agents. He ran to the barrier, hoping to find a way out, but of course there was none. His arms, like Amy and River's, bore the tally marks. Admitting defeat, Rory stopped running, turning to face Canton. "What are you waiting for?"

"I'm waiting for you to run." responded Canton. "It'll look better if I shot you while you're running. Then again..." he aimed, "looks aren't everything." he added, shooting Rory_._

OoOoOo

Within the warehouse on the corner of Jefferson, Adams and Hamilton, Lyra ran from both Canton and the creatures. Her arm, just like the others, had the peculiar tally marks on them. The blonde froze, looking around, desperate for a way out.

Canton and his men walked idly through the warehouse, eyes searching for the scared woman. "Miss Blake!" he called.

Lyra's eyes fell on the manhole cover and, due to a lack of better options, she dove right for it. Once she reached the bottom of the hole, she glanced around nervously, checking to see if the creatures were lurking around.

Sure she was safe, she sank down to the floor, sticking close to the ladder she had just climbed down. She brought her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "How did I get into this mess?" she asked herself quietly.

"Miss Blake!" repeated Canton. "There is absolutely no point in hiding."

Lyra sighed, taking a deep breath. After a beat, she climbed up the ladder, glaring at Canton as he approached her. "Is this how it ends then, Canton?!" she growled. "I helped you! I thought were were friends! I-"

Her arguments were cut short when Canton shot her.

OoOoOo

Back at Area 51, Canton and his team approached the Doctor's – now finished – cell. Three of his men pulled three body bags into the cell then left Canton and the Doctor to do business.

"Is there a reason you're doing this?" the Doctor asked Canton, looking at the body bags.

"I want you to know where you stand." the ex-FBI Agent answered smugly.

"In a cell." stated the Doctor obviously.

"In a perfect cell." Canton corrected. "Nothing can penetrate these walls. No sound. Not a radio wave. Not the tiniest particle of anything. In here, you're literally cut off from the rest of the universe." he paused. "So I guess they can't hear us, right?"

The Doctor grinned. "Good work, Canton. Door sealed?"

Canton gave a single nod. "You bet."

The Doctor suddenly sprung up from his chair, wriggling out of the chains. The body bags lifted, Amy, Rory and Lyra wriggling out of them, not dead.

_"_These things could really do with air holes!" exclaimed a very disgruntled Rory.

Canton smirked. "Never had a complaint before."

"Isn't it going to look odd that you're standing here with us?" Lyra asked, concerned that their escape might be short lived.

"Odd, but not alarming." Canton assured her. "They know there's no way out of this place."

"Exactly!" exclaimed the Doctor. "Whatever they think we might be doing in here, they know we're not going anywhere." he said, leaning to the side and coming to a stop against an invisible object. The TARDIS doors opened and the Doctor smiled. "Shall we?"

All five of the 'prisoners' entered the TARDIS. "What about Dr. Song?" asked Canton. "She dove off a rooftop!"

"Don't worry, she does that." the Doctor told Canton, rushing around the console. "Amy! Rory! Open all the doors to the swimming pool! Lyra, get the front doors!"  
River fell off the building, arms spread out, not a care in the world. It actually seemed like she was enjoying the trip. The TARDIS materialized beneath her and she fell through the doors, diving into the TARDIS pool with a splash.

"So." the Doctor began, handing a very wet River Song a towel. "We know they're everywhere. Not just a landing party, an occupying force. And they've been here a very, very long time. But nobody knows that, because no one can remember them."

"So what are they up to?" Canton enquired.

"No idea." confessed the Doctor. "But the good news is we've got a secret weapon."

He led everyone outside, looking up at a space shuttle. Behind him, his friends all shared a confused look.

"Apollo 11's your secret weapon?" asked River.

The Doctor glanced back at his perplexed companions and gave a sigh. When would they ever learn? "No, no. It's not Apollo 11." he said, looking back at the shuttle. "It's Neil Armstrong's foot."


	2. Chapter 2

Rain poured down over Graystark Hall Orphanage which, coupled with the starless night, made it hard for the two people driving the car towards the run-down care home to see. News of the pending moon landing played over the radio.

_'In just a few days, mankind will set foot on the moon for the first time. Today, the President reaffirmed America's commitment...'_

Canton, who was sat in the driver's seat, turned the radio off. He turned to the passenger seat, where Amy was sat. "Ready? Check?"

Amy held up her hand, palm up. "Clear." she confirmed

Canton held up his own hand. "Clear." he echoed. He looked at the hand he had held up, bringing his other hand into contact with it as though he were about to press into his palm.

_Earlier_

The Doctor stood in the TARDIS control room; Amy, Rory, River, Lyra and Canton scattered around. He held in his hand a strange looking, gun-like device, which he pressed into Canton's hand.

"Ow!" growled Canton.

The Doctor just ignored Canton's yelp, moving on. "So! Three months. What have we found out?"

"Well, they are everywhere." Rory noted as the Doctor approached him with the device. "Every state in America. Oww!" Rory barked as the Doctor shot the device into his hand.

"Not just America," the Doctor corrected him, once again ignoring the fact that that darn gun hurt, "the entire world."

River spoke up next as the Doctor moved over to Amy. "There's a greater concentration here though."

_"_Ow!" exclaimed Amy as she was the next to be shot with the mystery device.

The Doctor gave Amy a concerned look, asking quietly, "You ok?"

"All better." she assured him, smiling warmly.

The Doctor was confused. Amy had thought she was pregnant, not ill, so why had she responded as though she had been sick? "Better?"

"Turns out I was wrong." clarified Amy. "I'm not pregnant."

Rory noticed Amy and the Doctor talking in hushed tones, and for just one moment, despite knowing his fears were ridiculous, his old insecurities rose up in his heart. Trying to look and act casual, he wandered over to his wife and their time travelling friend. "What's up?"

"Nothing." Amy answered quickly. "Really, nothing, seriously."

"So you've seen them," Canton said, not noticing the interaction between Amy, Rory and the Doctor, "but you don't remember them?"

"You've seen them too." River reminded Canton. "That night at the warehouse. Remember? While you were pretending to hunt us down we saw hundreds of those things. We still don't know what they look like."

"It's like they edit themselves out of your memory as soon as you look away." noted Lyra. "The exact second you're not looking at them you can't remember anything."

"Sometimes you feel a bit sick though," Amy observed, remembering how she had occasionally felt nauseous after new tally marks had appeared on her arms, "but not always."

"So that's why you marked your skin?" asked Canton.

Amy nodded. "Only way we'd know if we had an encounter."

"How long have they been here?"

Amy sighed, more at her own frustration over not knowing than at Canton's question. "That's what we've spent the last three months trying to find out."

"Yeah, not easy if you can't remember anything you discover." Rory agreed.

Canton needed an answer. Even a vague half answer would have done! His country, the nation he had, in his FBI days, worked hard to protect, was not safe. Aliens had taken up home in America, and had apparently been there for quite some time. He would not be content until he knew everything he possibly could, including how long they had 'occupied' America and how they could be stopped. "How long do you think?"

"As long as there's been something in the corner of your eye, or creaking in your house or breathing under your bed or voices through a wall." the Doctor told Canton. "They've been running your lives for a very long time now, so keep this straight in your head. We are not fighting an alien invasion. We're leading a revolution." The Doctor paused, shooting the gun into Lyra's already outstretched hand. "And today the battle begins."

"How?" Lyra asked, not even wincing as the device was pressed into her palm.

"Like this." answered the Doctor, turning around and shooting the device into River's hand. River cried out in pain as Amy, Rory and Canton had. "Haha! Nano recorder!" he said with a grin. "Fuses with the cartilage in your hand." he pointed the gun at his own hand and shot. "Ow! Then it tunes itself directly to the speech centres in your brain. It'll pick up your voice, no matter what. Telepathic connection! So! The moment you see one of the creatures, you activate it." He held up his hand, pressing his fingers into his palm. A red dot appeared where he had pressed. "And describe aloud exactly what you're seeing."

The red dot started flashing, indicating that a recording had been made. The Doctor pressed his palm again, the recording played out, repeating what he had just said.

'_And describe aloud exactly what you're seeing.'_

_"_Because the moment you break contact, you're going to forget it happened." warned the Doctor. "The light will flash if you've left yourself a message. You keep checking your hand! If you've had an encounter that's the first you'll know about it."

"Why didn't you tell me this before we started?" asked Canton.

"I did! But even information about these creatures erases itself over time. I couldn't refresh it because I couldn't talk to you." the Doctor explained.

Canton glanced off to his left then turned back to the Doctor, adjusting his bow-tie. As though coming out of a haze, Canton looked at the Doctor then at everyone else, who were all staring at him. "What?" he asked, unnerved. "What are you all staring at?"

_"_Look at your hand." urged River softly.

He did as he was told, looking down. His palm was flashing red, just as the Doctor's had when demonstrating the Nano Recorder. "Why's it doing that?"

"What does it mean if the light's flashing?" asked the Doctor. "What did I just tell you?"

Canton seemed confused, his mind still foggy. "I haven't..."

"Play it."

Canton pressed his palm and his voice rang out.

'_My god! How did it get in here?'_

The Doctor's voiced responded._ 'Keep eye contact with the creature, and when I say, turn back, and when you do, straighten my bow tie.'_

_'__What? What are you all staring at?'_

_'__Look at your hand.'_

After listening to the recording, Canton slowly turned around, seeing, to his shock, one of the creatures.

"It's a hologram, extrapolated from a photo on Amy's phone." the Doctor told everyone. "Take a good long look." The hologram slowly faded. "You just saw an image of one of the creatures we're fighting." said the Doctor to Canton, clicking his fingers. "Describe it to me." He clicked his fingers again.

Canton hesitated, trying hard to conjure an image of the creature. But no matter how hard he tried, the memory was long gone. With a defeated sigh he said,_ "_I can't."

"No. Neither can I. You straightened my bow tie because I planted the idea in your head while you were looking at the creature."

"So they could do that to people?" Lyra asked uncertainly. "You could be doing stuff and not really knowing why you're doing it."

A thought occurred to Rory. "Like post hypnotic suggestion."

"Ruling the world with post hypnotic suggestion?" Amy asked disbelievingly.

"Now then. A little girl in a spacesuit." said the Doctor, moving on. "They got the suit from NASA but where did they get the girl?"

"Could be anywhere." Canton offered.

"Except they'd probably stay close to that warehouse because why bother doing anything else? And they'd take her from somewhere that would cause the least amount of attention." the Doctor deduced. "But you'll have to find her, I'm off to NASA."

"Find her?" pressed Canton. "Where do we look?"

As though stating the obvious, the Doctor answered with, "Children's homes."


	3. Chapter 3

Amy and Canton got out of the car and approached the doors of Graystark Orphanage. Canton raised his hand and knocked on the dark oak doors. A shuffling sound came from within and then the door slowly creaked open, a disheveled looking man peering out at his visitors. "Hello?" he asked hesitantly.

Canton held up his old badge. "FBI. You must be Dr. Renfrew. Can we come in?"

Dr. Renfrew hesitantly glanced back inside, before looking back at his unwelcome guests. "The children are asleep!"

"We'll be very quiet." Amy assured him.

Still very much reluctant, Dr. Renfrew asked, "Is there a problem?"

"It's about a missing child." Canton told him, somewhat sternly. Missing children were no laughing matter.

"What are you...?" Dr. Renfrew murmured. Seeing the looks on Canton and Amy's faces, he conceded, stepping back to let them in. "Yes, yes, come in, please."

Canton and Amy stepped into the house. As they worked their way upstairs, they noticed giant warnings written on the walls saying things such as 'GET OUT' and 'LEAVE NOW'. They shared a concerned look but continued to follow Dr. Renfrew.

**"**Please excuse the writing." Renfrew said sheepishly, pausing by the writing. "It keeps happening. I try to clean it up."

"It's the kids, yeah?" Amy asked for her own peace of mind. "They do that."

"Yes. The children. It must be. Yes." Renfrew replied uncertainly. Renfrew raised a cloth to the wall, wiping softy, and the words 'GET OUT' could be seen on his arm as well as the walls. "Anyway, my office is this way…" he said, leading them through the abandoned building.

"We nearly didn't come to this place." Canton noted, making conversation as the trio walked up the stairs. "I understood Graystark Hall was closed in '67."

Dr. Renfrew nodded."That's the plan, yes."

Amy looked confused. "The plan?"

"Not long now, yes." confirmed Renfrew.

"It's 1969." Canton informed him.

"No no, we close in '67. That's the plan, yes."

"You misunderstood me, sir." Canton said softly. "It's 1969 now."

Dr. Renfrew paused, looking back at Amy and Canton, perplexed. "Why are you saying that? Of course it isn't."

Canton nodded. "July."

Renfrew looked momentarily horrified. July 1969? It just wasn't possible. The moment passed, however, and his expression became normal once again. "...my office is this way, this way."

Amy looked back at Canton. "I'll check upstairs." she said quietly.

"Be careful." Canton requested, following Dr. Renfrew.

Amy separated from Canton, heading upstairs. She entered a large room filled with empty, disused beds. More words plastered the walls, pleas such as 'LEAVE ME ALONE' and 'GET OUT'.

OoOoOo_  
_

The Doctor was laying on his back on the floor. He was at the very top of Apollo 11, surrounded by wires and electrical equipment, fiddling with the machinery. His pocket beeped and he pulled out a non-terrestrial communication device. "Amy?"

Amy's voice spoke out through the device. "I think we've found the place she was taken from."

"How do you know?" he asked, needing to be sure.

"'Cause those things have been here, but the whole place is deserted. There's just one guy here and I think he's lost it."

"Repeated memory wipes." he confirmed. "They fry your head eventually. Find out what you can, but don't hang around."

"Where are you?"

The Doctor was about to answer, but the arrival of badly timed guests cut the conversation short. "Gotta go! Got company." He stopped fiddling with the electrical equipment and sat up. "Don't worry," he assured them, "I put everything back the way I found it." He looked at his hand, which held a piece of equipment "…except this. There's always a bit left over, isn't there." he said bashfully.

The two Apollo 11 workers who had interrupted the Doctor looked at each other in confusion. Neither of them noticed the steadily beeping device the Doctor had fixed into the wires.

OoOoOo

Back at Graystark Hall, Amy was exploring the room with the unkempt beds. She was glancing around cautiously when the door slammed shut behind her. Panicked, she raced to the door and struggled to open it, but to no avail. While trying to jiggle the handle, Amy noticed a red flashing light on her palm. She pressed the light and awaited the message that would surely tell her that the creatures were close.

'I can see them, but I think they're asleep. Get out! Just get out!'

Now well and truly scared, Amy tried to open the door again, but it just wasn't budging. She raced around the room, trying each window in the hope that she would find an escape. As she lifted her arms to try another window, Amy noticed markings on her arms. Looking at her reflection in the window she saw the tally marks covered her face, too. Turning slowly, she cast her eyes up to the ceiling, seeing several of the creatures hanging upside down, seemingly asleep. Amy quietly made her way across the room, desperately trying not to make a sound. As she neared the door, however, she accidentally knocked over a bin with a loud clatter. She froze, carefully turning around and seeing one of the creatures wake. She reached for her palm, ready to record what she could see, but when she looked down she forgot all about the danger. As suddenly as it had closed, the door to the room opened again, and Amy walked out slowly, unaware of the creature watching her.

OoOoOo

At Cape Kennedy, the Doctor sat in a chair, handcuffed and guarded by two men, a Mr. Gardner and Mr. Grant. He appeared to be in a large hall, a table to his right holding various papers and models related to the space program.

"Now one more time, sir." Mr. Gardner said through clenched teeth. "How the hell did you get in to the command module?"

"I told you! I'm on a top secret mission for the President." the Doctor repeated for what felt like the tenth time. Growing impatient, he tried gnawing through the handcuffs.

Still not believing him, Mr. Gardner scoffed. "Well maybe if you just get President Nixon to assure us of that, sir, that would be swell."

The Doctor casually flipped his hair out of his eyes. "I sent him a message."

Right on time, President Nixon strolled into the hall through the double doors, Amy, River and Lyra following behind him, all wearing suits. "Hello!" greeted Nixon, firmly shaking the hand of a very shocked Mr. Gardner. "I believe it's Mr. Gardner, is that correct? Head of Security?"

"Ah, yes, sir! Yes, Mr. President!" he confirmed, standing to attention and looking flustered.

The President turned his attention to Mr. Gardner's colleague. "Mr. Grant, is it?" he asked, shaking his hand.

Mr. Grant gave a single nod, standing to attention like his colleague had "Yes, Mr. President!"

"The hopes and dreams of millions of Americans stand here today, at Cape Kennedy, and you are the men who guard those dreams. On behalf of the American people, I thank you."

"You're welcome, Mr. President!" said Gardner.

"I understand you have a baby on the way, Mr. Grant!" Nixon stated.

Surprised that the President would know about that, Grant gave another nod. "Yes, Mr. President!"

"What are you hoping for, a boy or a girl?" asked Nixon.

"Just a healthy American, sir."

Nixon smiled. "A healthy American will do just nicely! Now, fellas, listen." he said, moving the conversation on. "This man here, Code name, The Doctor, is doing some work for me, personally. Could you cut him a little slack?" he requested.

"Uh, Mr. President, he _did_ break into Apollo 11." Gardner said hesitantly.

Nixon paused, looking at the Doctor, who mouthed a sheepish 'sorry'. At the same time, River and Rory shared a bemused look, while Lyra just suppressed a giggle. Shaking off all confusion, Nixon looked back at the Guards. "Well, I'm sure he had a very good reason for that." he said, not entirely believing his own words. "But I need you to release him now, so he can get on with some very important work for the American people. Could you do that for me?"

Looking unsure, Mr. Grant said, "Well..."

"Son, I _am_ your Commander in Chief." Nixon said sternly, deciding pulling rank was the only way to ensure the Doctor's release.

It worked. Mr. Gardner, through fear of punishment of the highest degree, conceded. "Then I guess, that would be fine, Mr. President."

"Glad to hear it."

The Guards released the Doctor, who leapt up and straightened his bow-tie. "Thank you! Bye bye!" he said, hurrying from the hall.

"Carry on, gentlemen." Nixon said with a nod, turning and leaving with Lyra and River.

Rory lingered behind, admiring one of the models on the table. He reached over, touching it and accidentally breaking a piece off. He looked at the Guards, then at the model satellite dish he'd broken off. Putting the broken dish down, he offered a nervous salute. "America salutes you." he said weakly, before turning to follow his friends out.

OoOoOo

At Graystark Hall, Canton stood in Dr. Renfrew's office with him, glancing around. "This place… it's been closed for years. What have you been doing?" he asked.

"Oh, the child. She must be cared for. It's important. That's what they said." Renfrew responded, rambling to himself more than answering the question.

Finally feeling like he might be getting somewhere, Canton asked, "That's what who said?"

OoOoOo

Upstairs in Graystark Hall, Amy walked through a corridor, torch in hand to light the dim halls. She approached a door that had a hatch, and as she got nearer the hatch opened, revealing a woman's face. Her features were harsh and she wore what, to Amy, looked like a futuristic eye patch. "Hello? Who are you?" she asked the woman.

The eye patch wearing woman just stared at Amy for a few moments before looking off to the side. "No," she said, as though talking to someone else. "I think she's just dreaming." With that, the hatch closed.

Amy walked up to the door and pulled it open, thinking she'd see the woman. Instead, she stepped into an empty bedroom that appeared to belong to a child. "Hello? I saw you, looking through the hatch…" Amy trailed off, looking back at the door. She shone her torch on it, finding that there was no hatch. Trying to ignore the growing dread, Amy began to explore the room. At the back of the room there was a chest of draws full of photographs of a little girl. Amy shone her torch over them until she saw, hidden at the back, one particular photo that confused and scared her. It was a picture of her holding a baby. "How? How can that be me?" she asked herself.

Amy was looking down at the picture in horror when she heard the heavy footfalls of the astronaut. She spun around, staring at the astronaut. "Who are you?" she asked desperately. "I don't understand so just tell me who you are!" she begged. The astronaut lifted its visor, revealing the little girl. The glass of the helmet was shattered from where the astronaut had been shot, and Amy looked on sadly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shoot you. I'm glad I missed." she reassured the girl. "But you killed the Doctor. Or you're _gonna _kill him. But who are you? Just please, tell me, because I don't understand."

The girl just stared pleadingly at Amy. "Please help me. Help me, please." she urged.

Two of the creatures appeared in the doorway, entering the room. Amy screamed. The door closed.


	4. Chapter 4

Canton and Dr. Renfrew were still sat in Renfrew's office when something thumped on his office door. He moved over to the door but only opened it halfway, as he had done with the front doors when Canton and Amy had arrived. "It's just some questions." he assured whoever was on the other side of the door. After a pause, he spoke again. "Yes, I see."

Canton watched the exchange carefully, following the care worker's movements as he shut the door and turned his attention back to Canton. "Who was that?" he asked. When he didn't receive an answer, he pressed on more urgently. "Dr. Renfrew? Who was that?"

Dr. Renfrew, who seemed to be clueless that there had been any interruption at all, just said, "Who was who?"

Suddenly on high alert, Canton walked over to the door. Before he reached it, however, it was pushed open by one of the creatures, who slowly stepped into the room. Canton froze, looking up at the tall creature. "What are you?" he asked, curling his fingers inward and activating the nano recorder. "You can tell me, 'cause I won't remember." Canton paused, waiting for a response. "You invaded us. You're everywhere." It was at this point that Amy's cries for help rang out through the Orphanage, and Canton was done playing games. "Are you armed?"

The creature tilted its head in an almost mocking nature, and its hollow voice echoed around the room. "This world is ours. We have ruled it since the wheel and the fire. We have no need of weapons."

"Yeah?" challenged Canton, quickly pulling out his gun and shooting the creature three times. "Welcome to America." he quipped, moving quickly past the wounded creature and down the hall.

OoOoOo

The Doctor stood in the Oval Office with President Nixon. "You have to tape everything that happens in this office, every word, or we won't know if you're under the influence." he warned the President.

"Doctor, you have to give me more than this. What were you doing to Apollo 11?" he asked, his tone hopelessly authoritative.

"A thing." he answered vaguely. "A clever thing. Now. No more questions. You have to trust me. And nobody else."

River appeared at the TARDIS doorway, looking out at Nixon and the Doctor. "Doctor! It's Canton!" she said urgently. "Quick, he needs us!"

The Doctor turned and raced into the TARDIS, hurriedly sending it to Graystark Hall, where Amy's voice still called out desperately as Canton searched for her. "Help me! Please! I can't… I can't see! Somebody help me!"

"Amy!" Canton called, standing at the locked door to the child's room. "Amy, can you hear me? Amy, I'm going to try and blow the lock, I need you to stand back." he warned, stepping back and aiming the gun at the lock.

The Doctor raced into the corridor, sonic in hand and friends in tow. "OK, gun down, I've got it!"

"Amy, we're here!" Rory called out. "Are you ok?"

"I can't see!" was her response.

The Doctor used the sonic to unlock the door and he, Canton, Rory, River and Lyra poured into the room. Not one of them noticed that the girl from the spacesuit was free and hiding further down the corridor.

Rory looked around the empty room, deeply concerned that Amy wasn't there. "Where is she, Doctor?"

River looked down at the floor, noticing the now empty astronaut suit. "It's empty…"

"Dark. So dark." Amy sobbed. "I don't know where I am. Please, can anybody hear me?"

Rory followed his ears, looking down at the floor. Kneeling down, he picked up Amy's nano recorder, no longer stored in her palm. "They took this out of her." he breathed, heartbroken. He rose to his feet, facing the Doctor. "How did they do that, Doctor?" he asked as Amy's continued sobs could be heard from the recorder. "Why can I still hear her?"

"Is it a recording?" asked Lyra softly.

The Doctor scanned the nano recorder with his sonic screwdriver then looked at the results. "Um, it defaults to live." he said sadly, lowering the sonic, his eyes falling on the recorder. "This is current. Wherever she is right now, this is what she's saying."

Rory held the recorder up to his mouth, speaking into it. "Amy, can you hear me? We're coming for you. Wherever you are we're coming, I swear." he vowed.

The Doctor gave a quiet, solemn sigh. "She can't hear you." he informed Rory. "I'm so sorry. It's one-way."

"She can always hear me, Doctor. Always." he said defiantly, meeting the Doctor's eyes. "Wherever she is, she always knows that I am coming for her, do you understand me? Always."

Lyra watched Rory, listening to his vows and seeing his pain… and it broke her heart. Rory, who had so much love for his Scottish bride, was so very determined to bring his wife back, no matter what. She wasn't sure if she should be extremely happy or extremely sad, and as tears started to form in her eyes she wondered if every day was like this with the Doctor.

"Doctor, are you out there?" Amy asked pleadingly. "Can you hear me, Doctor? Oh, god. Please, please Doctor, just get me out of this!"

There was a flicker, just a flicker, of heartache in Rory's eyes. There one second, gone the next. Because he knew… Knew what he had always known. In her times of need, it would always be _him _she wanted… "He's coming, Amy. I'll bring him, I swear."

"Hello? Is someone in there?" Dr. Renfrew asked, appearing in the doorway. "I... I think someone has been shot. I think we should help. We... I can't... I can't remember..."

Canton led everyone through the halls and back to Renfrew's office, where the creature sat curled on the floor, its giant, four fingered hand held over its wound.

"Ok. Who and what are you?" the Doctor asked it, intrigued.

"Silence, Doctor." it groaned weakly. "We are the Silence."

The Doctor's face fell, ice cold dread clawing at his hearts. He remembered being in the hospital back in Leadworth, Prisoner Zero giving its last, sinister warning.

_'Silence, Doctor. Silence will fall.'_

He remembered his trip to Venice with Amy and Rory. Signora Calvierri's story of how she came to be in Venice, and the sudden, peculiar silence that fell as they were about to leave.

_'We ran from the Silence.'_

_'All I can hear is… silence..'_

"And Silence will fall!" the creature, the Silent, warned.

OoOoOo

Back at Area 51, the Doctor's perfect prison slowly opened, and Canton walked out to a group of perplexed Guards. "Hello again." he greeted calmly.

"Sir," one of the Guards spoke up, "you've been in there for days! What the hell have you been doing?"

"Doesn't matter. I need Dr Shepherd here right now." he demanded.

"Sir, I need to talk to Colonel Jefferson right now!" the Guard objected.

Canton was almost smug as he said, "No, you really don't."

President Nixon emerged from the prison, which elicited a mass salute from the Guards. "Hi, fellas! I'm President Nixon. I want to tell you, on behalf of the American people, how much we appreciate all of your hard work."

OoOoOo

The Doctor, River, Rory and Lyra were all back in the warehouse. A small TV rested on an empty crate, showing the preparations for the Apollo 11 launch.

_'The target for the Apollo astronauts, the moon, at lift off, will be at a distance of 218,096 miles away. We're just past the two minute mark on the countdown. T minus one minute 54 seconds and counting.'_

As the Apollo coverage played on the TV, River and the Doctor stood examining the spacesuit. "It's an exoskeleton." noted River. "Basically, life support. There's about 20 different kinds of alien tech in here."

"Who was she?" the Doctor wondered aloud. "Why put her in here?"

"Put this on, you don't even need to eat. The suit processes sunlight directly. It's got built-in weaponry, and a communications system that can hack into anything." River responded, noting all of the suit's intricacies.

When River mentioned the suit's hacking capabilities, the Doctor looked at her. "Including the telephone network?"

"Easily."

One thing still confused the Doctor. "But why phone the President?"

"It defaults to the highest authority it can find. The little girl gets frightened, the most powerful man on Earth gets a phone call." stated River obviously. "The night terrors with a hotline to the White House." she added, looking up as the Doctor licked the blue envelope that had contained his invite. "You won't learn anything from that envelope, you know."

"Purchased on Earth. Perfectly ordinary stationery. TARDIS blue." replied the Doctor, determined to prove River wrong, and only half succeeding. "Summoned by a stranger who won't even show his face. That's a first for me. How about you?"

"Our lives are back to front. Your future's my past. Your firsts are my lasts." answered River the only way she knew how. Vaguely.

River's evasion didn't go unnoticed by the Doctor. It never did. "That's not really what I asked."

The Doctor was fishing and River knew it. But this most certainly wasn't the first time he had tried to coerce information out of River, so it didn't bother her in the slightest. "Ask something else then."

Accepting that he wouldn't get anything out of her this time, he returned his attention back to the girl. "What are the Silence doing? Raising a child?"

"Keeping her safe. Even giving her independence."

The Doctor looked over at Rory. Lyra was by his side, remaining silent, both of them looking at the nano recorder. Lyra's head was rested on Rory's shoulder, and Rory didn't seem to object to the gesture. The Doctor allowed himself a moment to smile at the scene before him. Lyra Blake. Helping lost souls. Always. "The only way to save Amy is to work out what the Silence are doing." the Doctor finally said.

"I know!" Rory growled, frustrated. This caused Lyra to lift her head and face the Doctor.

"Every single thing we learn about them brings us a step closer." the Doctor continued, hoping to reassure Rory.

"Yeah, Doctor." sighed Rory. "I get it. I know."

"Of course," the Doctor said, once again thinking of the girl, "it's possible she's not just any little girl."

"Well I'd say she's human going by the life support software." River observed, but she left her sentence hanging.

"But?" pressed the Doctor.

"She climbed out of this suit." River finished. "She forced her way out. She must be incredibly strong."

"Incredibly strong and running away." the Doctor said with an appreciative smile. "I like her."

"We should be trying to find her." Lyra said firmly, speaking her first words since arriving back at the warehouse. She didn't like that they were just standing around and talking when Amy was God knows where, scared for her life, and a terrified little girl was out there, hiding from awful creatures that wanted to do God knows what with her!

The Doctor glanced at Lyra. He was glad to see more of her selfless determination rising to the surface. "Yes, I know, but how?" he asked. "Anyway I have the strangest feeling she's going to find us."

The sound of, _'This is Houston, do you read? Over.' _came from the TV.

"Why does it look like a NASA spacesuit?" Rory asked.

"Because that's what the Silence do, think about it." the Doctor responded. "They don't make anything themselves. They don't have to. They get other life forms to do it for them."

River guessed, "So they're parasites then."

"Super-parasites." agreed the Doctor. "Standing in the shadows of human history since the very beginning. We know they can influence human behaviour any way they want. If they've been doing that on a global scale for thousands of years, then…"

"Then what?" Rory pushed, annoyed that the Doctor stopped his sentence mid-thought.

"Then why did the human race suddenly decide to go to the moon? Because the Silence needed a space suit." he finished, turning to watch as the TV showed Apollo 11 launching.


	5. Chapter 5

In the Doctor's perfect prison, back at Area 51, Canton watched Dr. Shepherd apprehensively look at the injured Silence from Graystark Hall. "My god!" he breathed. "What is it?"

Area 51 was notorious for housing all things weird and wonderful, from all over the universe, which included items, technology and beings of extra-terrestrial origin. And Dr. Shepherd had been working in the government base for a good few years, so Canton felt that the doctor's shock wasn't entirely justified, which is why he replied with, "It's just an alien, Dr. Shepherd."

"Someone's already been treating it." Shepherd noted, wondering why he had been called in if there was another medic at hand.

"Yeah." sighed Canton, tired of having to remind the doctor that _he _was the creature's medic. "_You've_ been treating it."

"Does Colonel Jefferson know this thing is here?"

"No."

"Then I'm going to tell him right now." Shepherd said, turning to face Canton.

"Again?" asked Canton, halfway between bemused and annoyed.

All memory of the Silent forgotten, Shepherd said, "Sorry, what?"

"Exactly."

Dr. Shepherd sighed in annoyance. "Sergeant, why was I called in here for no reason?" he asked, picking up his kit and leaving Canton alone with the creature.

The Silent looked up at Canton. "You tend to my wounds. You are foolish." it said weakly.

"Why? What would you do in my place?" enquired Canton, pulling Amy's mobile from his pocket. He held it up, recording the creature.

"We have ruled your lives since your lives began." it taunted. "You should kill us all on sight. But you will never remember we were even here. Your will is ours!"

A small but triumphant smile appeared on Canton's face. "Well. Sorry to disappoint you. But thanks, that's exactly what I needed to hear." he told the Silent. "This is a video phone." he informed it, before adding quietly, "Whatever a video phone is."

OoOoOo

Back in the warehouse, the Doctor received a message on his scanner. He played the video Canton had sent him and smiled. Just what he needed to stop the Silence. The Doctor glanced over at Lyra, who was watching Rory sit leaning against a crate, nano recorder in hand, listening to Amy's sobs. He could see pain in Lyra's eyes, and he knew that she was trying to think of something – anything – she could do to help Rory.

Over by the suit, River was scanning it when suddenly the glove of the suit twitched, as though it were alive. "This suit, it seems to be repairing itself." she asked, concerned. "How is it doing that? Doctor, a unit like this, would it ever be able to move without an occupant?"

"Why?"

"Well the little girl said the space man was coming to eat her." River reminded him. "Maybe that's exactly what happened."

"I love you." Amy said, causing Rory, Lyra and the Doctor to look up, now on alert. "I know you think it's him." she continued. "I know you think it ought to be him. But it's not. It's you. And when I see you again, I'm going to tell you properly, just to see your stupid face." vowed Amy. "My life was so boring before you just dropped out of the sky." Rory bowed his head, his heart shattering. It was always going to happen, it was only a matter of time. He just didn't expect to lose her so soon, and not to _him. _Never to _him_." "So just get your stupid face where I can see it. Ok?" Amy finished. "Ok?"

Lyra slowly turned her head to face the Doctor, her eyes cold. She was angry. She was more than angry, she was furious. Because this was what the Doctor did, wasn't it? He dropped out of the sky and into people's lives, whisking them away for a life of adventure, but it wasn't adventure. It was danger, and confusion, and fear, and running. A ludicrous amount of running. He took this ordinary woman and showed her wonder… and Rory would never get a look in.

The Doctor looked over at Rory, determined to believe that Amy was speaking to her Centurion husband. The alternative meant… well… he wouldn't think of that, because she _was _talking about Rory. She had to be. "She'll be safe for now. No point in a dead hostage." the Doctor assured him.

"Can't you save her?" pleaded Rory.

"I can track that signal back, take us right to her."

Rory paused, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "Then why haven't you?" he growled. His wife was in danger, she might die, despite what the Doctor said. And they were just waiting. He wanted to know why.

"Because then what?" asked the Doctor, moving over to sit next to Rory. "I find her and then what do I do? This isn't an alien invasion, they live here. This is their empire. This is kicking the Romans out of Rome."

Rory hesitated again. He wanted to scoff, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. "Rome fell."

"I know. I was there."

"So was I." Rory reminded him.

"Personal question?" the Doctor requested.

The scoff he had been holding back finally passed his lips, and his expression turned incredulous. "Seriously? _You?_"

The Doctor took Rory's answer as a yes. "Do you ever remember it?" he asked. "Two thousand years waiting for Amy? The last Centurion?"

Lyra looked at River. 'Two thousand years?' she mouthed. River just subtly shook her head as though to say 'don't ask' and returned her attention to the suit.

"No." Rory answered a little _too _ quickly.

The Doctor glanced sideways at him. "Are you lying?"

"Of course I'm lying."

"Of course you are." said the Doctor, smiling warmly. "Not the sort of thing anyone forgets."

"But I don't remember it all the time." Rory confessed. "It's like... a door in my head. I can keep it shut."

OoOoOo

Five days later, people from all over America were turning on their televisions to watch the Apollo 11 coverage. This was it. The big moment. Apollo 11 was about to land. 'Just five days since Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy, this unprecedented journey is reaching it's crucial moment. Armstrong and Aldrin are making their descent to the surface of the moon.'

OoOoOo

Amy groaned softly, her eyes slowly opening and her surroundings swimming into focus. She seemed to be in some kind of… was it a TARDIS? The panels on the central control column resembled the ones on the makeshift TARDIS from Aickman Road that the Doctor had described to her. But as she grew more and more aware, Amy noticed the creatures surrounding her. Panicked, she wanted to run, but she was strapped down on something, so she just struggled against her binds. "Where am I? Where is this?" she asked.

One of the Silence looked at her. "You are Amelia Pond." it told her.

Amy just looked at the Silent, holding onto the adrenaline that had just surged through her. When that was gone, she would just be left with fear. "You're ugly, has anyone mentioned that to you?"

Ignoring her insult, the Silent went on. "We do you honor. You will bring the Silence. But your part will soon be over."

"Well whatever that means, you've made a big mistake bringing me here 'cause wait 'til you see what's coming for you now." she said, her voice full of certainty. Because there was somebody coming, somebody who would always come for her, and when he got there those creatures would wish they had never messed with Amelia Williams.

"You have been here many days." the creature reminded her.

"No, I just got here." she replied, confused. "You just put me in here."

"Your memory is weak." it informed Amy. "You have been here many days."

Amy shook her head. "No. No, I can't have been."

The Silent approached her slowly. "You will sleep now. Sleep. Sleep."

"No, no!" Amy cried out, struggling again. "Get off me!"

The beautiful sound of the TARDIS engines filled the makeshift TARDIS, and the Doctor's blue box appeared in a far corner. The Doctor stepped out, ignoring the creatures surrounding him, because where he was was far more intriguing than the creatures that dwelled within. "Oh, interesting! Very AickmanRoad. Seen one of these before. Abandoned, I wonder how that happened." he mused as Rory, River and Lyra followed him out of the TARDIS. "Oh, well! I suppose I'm about to find out. Rory, River, Lyra, keep one Silent in eyeshot at all times." he warned, turning to face one of the creatures. "Oh, hello! Sorry, were you in the middle of something? Just had to say, though, have you seen what's on the telly?" he asked, carrying a TV over to the console and setting it up. He turned to look at Amy. "Oh, hello, Amy. Are you alright? Wanna watch some television?_"_

One of the creatures moved towards the Doctor, but he shot it a warning glare. "Ah, no, stay where you are! 'Cause look at me. I'm confident. You wanna watch that, me when I'm confident." As River slowly moved backwards towards the Doctor, gun in hand and aimed at one of the Silence, he nodded towards her. "Oh, and this is my friend River. Nice hair, clever, has her own gun. Oh, and unlike me she really doesn't mind shooting people. I shouldn't like that, kinda do a bit." he confessed.

Now back to back with the Doctor, River said, "Thank you, Sweetie."

"I know you're team players and everything," continued the Doctor, "but she'll definitely kill at least the first three of you."

"Oh the first seven, easily." River corrected him.

"Seven. Really?"

"Oh, eight for you, honey." she replied flirtatiously.

The Doctor adopted the same tone as River. "Stop it."

"Make me."

"Yeah well, maybe I will."

Amy, with difficulty, leaned to the side so she could see past the Silent blocking her view. She glared at the Doctor and River. "Is this really important, flirting? Because I feel like I should be higher up on the list right now." she growled.

The Doctor shook his head a little, returning to the matter at hand. "Yes, right. Sorry! As I was saying, my naughty friend here is going to kill the first three of you to attack, plus him behind. So maybe you want to draw lots, or have a quiz."

Rory raced over to Amy, attempting to free her from the slab she was bound to. "What's he got?" Amy asked him.

"Something," answered Rory unenthusiastically, "I hope."

"Or maybe you could just listen a minute." the Doctor pressed on. "Because all I really want to do is accept your total surrender and then I'll let you go in peace. Yes, you've been interfering in human history for thousands of years. Yes, people have suffered and died. But what's the point in two hearts if you can't be a bit forgiving now and then." he said, squaring up to a Silent. "Oh. The Silence. You guys take that seriously, don't you?" he asked mockingly "Okay, you got me. I'm lying. I'm not really going to let you go that easily. Nice thought but it's not Christmas." he confessed, turning to the TV and raising the aerial antennae. "First. You tell me about the girl. Who is she, why is she important? What's she for?"

The TV coverage of the moon landing showed Apollo 11 landing. "Guys. Sorry. But you're way out of time." the Doctor informed the Silence. "Now, come on. A bit of history for you. Aren't you proud, 'cause you helped." he commended them. "Now. Do you know how many people are watching this live on the telly? Half a billion. And that's nothing, because the human race will spread out among the stars—you just watch them fly. Billions and billions of them, for billions and billions of years. And every single one of them at some point in their lives will look back at this man taking that very first step and they will never ever forget it." he said proudly. "Oh. But they'll forget this bit." he added, pulling out his communication device and calling Canton. "Ready?" he asked.

"Ready. " confirmed Canton, attaching Amy's phone to a device that, unbeknownst to him, activated the mysterious device the Doctor had wired into Apollo 11.

On the TV, Armstrong stepped out onto the surface of the moon, beginning his famous quote. _'That's one small step for man.'_

Suddenly the footage changed, showing the wounded Silent giving its warning. 'You should kill us all on sight.'

And televisions all over the world picked up the looped warning, everyone remembering the sinister creatures. People in bars turned to face the Silence, readying themselves to fight. At the Whitehouse, Peterson and the other Guards turned and aimed their guns at the Silence.

Back in the makeshift TARDIS, the Doctor observed the Silence smugly. "You've given the order for your own execution. And the whole planet just heard you."

The video stopped its loop and once again showed Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon. _'__One giant leap for mankind.'_

"And one whacking great kick up the backside for the Silence!" exclaimed the Doctor happily. "You just raised an army against yourself. And now, for a thousand generations, you're going to be ordering them to destroy you every day." he explained as one of the creatures approached him, seeming furious. "How fast can you run? 'Cause today's the day the human race throw you off their planet. They won't even know they're doing it. I think quite possibly the word you're looking for right now is," The Silence started crackling with electricity and the Doctor started to look a tad nervous. "Oops! Run." he said. "Guys, I mean us. Run!"

The Silence started attacking and River leapt into action, shooting her gun in all directions. The Doctor stood with her, attempting to help with his sonic screwdriver. At the same time, Rory was desperately trying to free Amy. All while Lyra stood back looking terrified, and jumping at every loud noise.

"I can't get her out!" Rory growled.

"Go," Amy demanded of Rory, "just go!"

"We are not leaving without you!" vowed Rory.

Amy gave a frustrated sigh. Would he _ever _listen? "Will you just get your stupid face out of here?!"

Rory stopped working to free Amy. He slowly rose his head to look at her. His heart pounded in his chest. Had she just called him…?

"Run! Into the TARDIS! Quickly!" River ordered everyone.

The Doctor ran over to Amy and Rory, using his sonic to free her. He quickly returned to River's side as Rory and Lyra helped Amy into the TARDIS. The two time travelers swerved around, trying to dodge the Silence as they attacked. "Don't let them build to full power!" the Doctor shouted urgently.

"I know!" River replied, just as impatiently. "There's a reason why I'm shooting, honey! What are _you_ doing?"

"Helping!"

"You've got a screwdriver! Go build a cabinet!" she yelled.

"That's really rude!" exclaimed the Doctor, momentarily stopping his attack.

"Shut up and drive!" she demanded, nudging the Doctor away with her arse.

Giving up, the Doctor ran into the TARDIS, leaving River to finish her attack. In a dramatic display of heroism, River spun around, shooting the creatures that surrounded her. When she shot the final Silent, she blew into the barrel of her gun and asked, "My old fella didn't see that, did he? He gets ever so cross."

"So..." Rory began, standing in the doorway of the TARDIS and wondering how River, who had her back to him, knew he was standing there, "what kind of doctor are you?"

River turned to face Rory. "Archaeology." she answered, shooting a Silent that tried to sneak up behind her. As she moved towards the TARDIS, she smirked. "Love a tomb."


	6. Chapter 6

After killing the Silence, River rushed into the TARDIS, past Rory who lingered near the doors, and up to the console, working the controls, much to the Doctor's dismay.

"You can let me fly it!" the Doctor snapped.

"Yes, or we could go where we're supposed to." argued River, which elicited a smirk from Lyra, who turned to face Amy and Rory when Amy spoke.

"What's the matter with _you_?" asked Amy, walking down the steps to meet Rory.

"You called me stupid." Rory noted.

Amy looked confused. Why did _that _bother him? "I _always_ call you stupid."

"No , but... my face."

Amy paused, a look of realisation appearing on her face. She looked down at Rory's hand, bringing it up and unfurling his fingers to reveal the nano recorder.

"I wasn't sure who you were talking about." Rory confessed. "You know... me, or..." he trailed off, glancing up at the Doctor.

Amy turned her head to the side a little, before meeting Rory's eyes again. "Him?" she asked with a scoff.

"Well you did say 'dropped out of the sky!'" Rory countered.

Amy rolled her eyes and gave a soft laugh. "It's a figure of speech, moron!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a tender kiss.

"Thanks." murmured Rory.

Amy smiled, content. "You're welcome." she replied as Lyra and the Doctor looked on, happy.

OoOoOo

The Doctor and his companions were gathered in the Oval office. Nixon was smiling gratefully, shaking the Doctor's hand. "So we're safe again." he said, relieved.

"Safe?" replied the Doctor. "No, of course you're not safe. There's about a billion other things out there just waiting to burn your whole world. But if you want to pretend you're safe just so you can sleep at night, okay. You're safe. But you're not really." He turned to Canton. "Canton. Until the next one, eh?"

"Looking forward to it." he responded with a warm smile.

"Canton just wants to get married." the Doctor noted, looking back at Nixon. "Hell of a reason to kick him out of the FBI."

"I'm sure something can be arranged." Nixon said with a nod.

"I'm counting on you." he said, turning back to the TARDIS.

"Er, Doctor..." Nixon called, making the Doctor turn back. "Canton here tells me you're... from the future. Hardly seems possible, but I was wondering..."

The Doctor saw where Nixon was going, and interrupted. "Should warn you, I don't answer a lot of questions."

"But I'm a President at the beginning of his time. Dare I ask, will I be remembered?"

Smiling fondly, the Doctor placed his hand on Nixon's shoulder and said, "Oh Dickie. Tricky Dickie. They're never going to forget you." he assured him. "Say hi to David Frost for me." he added as he and his friends returned to the TARDIS.

"David Frost?" murmured Nixon, confused. He and Canton stood and watched as the TARDIS dematerialized. Finally, Nixon asked, "This person you want to marry… Black?"

"Yes." confirmed the ex-FBI Agent.

"Hmm." Nixon mused. "I know what people think of me, but perhaps I'm a little more liberal-"

Before Nixon could finish his thought, Canton interjected with. "_He_ is."

Nixon was lost for words. A white man with a black woman was one thing… but a man with another man? "I think the moon is far enough for now, don't you, Mr. Delaware?"

Canton smirked despite himself. "I figured it might be." he said as Nixon looked off to the side, eyes wide.

OoOoOo

Across the stars, the Doctor and River song stood at River's cell at the Stormcage Containment Facility. "You could come with us." the Doctor suggested.

River just offered a kind smile. "I escape often enough, thank you. And I have a promise to live up to. You'll understand soon enough."

The Doctor shrugged, wondering why she had refused the offer of a permanent escape, but not pushing the matter. "Okay. Up to you. See you next time. Call me!" he said, turning to leave.

"What?" asked River. "That's it? What's the matter with you?"

The Doctor turned back to River, wondering what he had done wrong. "Have I forgotten something?"

River scoffed quietly, smirking at him. "Oh... shut up." she said, pulling him close and kissing him.

The Doctor went into shock, flailing his arms about. He didn't know if he should pull away or accept the kiss, or even maybe kiss her back…? No! No kissing back! The Doctor didn't do that. But… maybe he did. Just this once. After all, it _was_ River… No, wait, why did that matter? Yes, her lips tasted good… and it felt right, but… No! Not right! Weird! The Doctor pulled away after his conflicted inner struggle, his eyes wide. "Right. Okay. Interesting." he stammered.

River looked at the Doctor, confused. "What's wrong? You're acting like we've never done that before."

"We haven't." the Doctor informed her.

"We haven't?" pressed River, her heart sinking. If the Doctor was telling the truth, and she sincerely hoped that this was just rule 1 rearing its ugly head again, but if he _was _telling the truth then that meant…

"Oh, look at the time. Must be off." the Doctor replied, still feeling uncertain about what had just happened. "But it was very nice. It was good. It was unexpected. You know what they say, there's a first time for everything." he said, a wavering smile on his face as he walked back to the TARDIS.

"And a last time." River said sadly, keeping her voice low so the Doctor didn't hear.

The TARDIS doors opened as the Doctor approached them, and Lyra stepped out. He looked at his nervous companion with concern. "Lyra, are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I just… I need to speak with River… if that's ok…" she requested, looking back and forth between the two time travelers.

The Doctor looked back at River, who was doing her best to hide the damage, then turned to face Lyra. "Yes, of course. I'll be inside." he sad hesitantly, stepping into the TARDIS.

Lyra walked over to River, and the prisoner smiled a genuine smile. "This has been quite the experience for you, hasn't it?" she said.

"You killed someone…" Lyra noted, looking at the bars of River's cell and completely ignoring her question.

River's smile fell slightly. "Yes." she said sadly.

Lyra finally met River's eyes, and heaved a great sigh. "I'm not gonna ask." she said, sounding well and truly exhausted. "If the Doctor trusts you, I suppose that's good enough for me."

River smiled that knowing smile of hers. "But there's something else you want to ask, isn't there?"

Lyra couldn't help but smile back, except the smile was short lived. "You said you'd-" Lyra cut herself off, glancing back at the TARDIS. She turned her gaze back to River, pointing behind her to the TARDIS. "That monitor of his," she whispered, "is he watching us?"

River gave a single nod. "It's very possible, so choose your words carefully." she warned.

Lyra blinked, taking a deep breath. "When number 5 showed up, in Utah, before this whole mess began… You asked who he was… You didn't seem to know, and neither did Amy and Rory." she recalled. "Amy and Rory didn't know who _I _was, either. But _you_ did… You _do_. And you promised. In the diner, you promised you'd explain all of this to me…" she reminded River.

"I did explain." River said, the ghost of a smirk on her lips. "I told you exactly how we saw what we saw that day."

Lyra just looked unimpressed, and she crossed her arms. "Don't do that. Not with me."

River looked confused. "Do what?"

"That thing that you do! That thing where you smirk and you give vague, half answers. That may work on him, but it won't work on me."

A grin spread across River's face before she could stop it. Oh she _really _liked this one. When Lyra continued to look unhappy, however, the grin shrunk and River looked at her sadly. "I know what you want to know, but there are some things I can't tell you. Some things you're better off hearing from other people." she explained, glancing pointedly at the TARDIS.

Lyra sighed. She knew this would happen. Not just that River would refuse to answer the question burning in her mind, but also that she'd have to ask the Doctor. "I don't know what to do, River." she groaned quietly. "This is all over now. The Silence have been stopped, so… I mean… what do I do now?"

River offered a sympathetic smile. "You have two choices. As you have quite rightly observed, this danger is well and truly over. You have no obligation to stay on board the TARDIS. So, if you feel that you've seen enough, and that your questions can go unanswered, go back home. Return to your life as a normal human being. Forget all about the Doctor and the invites."

"And my other choice?" asked Lyra, though she knew the answer.

"You can stay. The Doctor's life is dangerous, yes, but it's also wonderful. Surely you've seen that? If you can't ignore everything you've seen, and you _need _the answers to all of your questions… The only advice I can give is stay."

Lyra turned her gaze to the TARDIS, another sigh floating past her lips. She leaned her head on the bars of River's cell and weighed up the pro's and cons of each choice.

OoOoOo

While River and Lyra had their heart to heart outside, the Doctor was inside the TARDIS with Amy and Rory. "Rory! I'm going to need thermo-couplings. The green ones and the blue ones." he said, sending Rory off. Of course, he didn't need any thermo-couplings at all. He just needed to speak to Amy privately.

"Ok. Hold on." Rory said, leaving Amy and Rory to speak.

"So." said the Doctor.

"So?" Amy asked.

"You're ok?"

"Fine." Amy assured him. "Head's a bit... weird. There's lots of stuff I can't quite remember."

"After effect of the Silence. Natural enough." the Doctor assured her quickly, eager to move on to what he wanted to talk about. "That's not what I was asking. You told me you were pregnant."

Amy, now understanding what the Doctor meant, hesitated. "Yes."

"Why?"

"'Cause I _was_." she told him. "I mean, I thought I was. Turns out I wasn't."

Once again, the Doctor found himself having to specify his meaning. "No, I mean why did you tell _me_?"

"Because you're my friend." Amy said, a warm smile on her face. "You're my _best_ friend."

The Doctor smiled back at her, nodding in approval. "Hm. Did you tell Rory?"

Rory, who was in the area underneath the console, held the nano recorder in his hand, listening to every word the Doctor and Amy were saying. Once again, he felt that pang of heartache.

"No." Amy answered.

"Amy, why tell me and not Rory?" the Doctor pressed.

"Why do you think?" Amy replied, as though the answer was obvious. "I travelled with you in this TARDIS for so long. All that time. If I _was_ pregnant for some of it, wouldn't it have had an effect? Because I don't want to tell Rory that his baby might have three heads, or like a time head, or something."

The Doctor paused, smirking. "What's a time head?"

"I don't know, but what if it had one?"

"A time head?" repeated the Doctor, laughing.

Amy couldn't help but laugh too. "Shut up." After a pause she called out, "Oi, stupid face!"

Rory's expression changed from solemn to nervous in a heartbeat. "Uh… yeah?" he asked, walking back up the the console. "…Hello." he said cautiously, the nano recorder visible in his hand.

Amy frowned at him. "I'm taking that away from you if you're going to listen in all the time!"

"Ok, that's a fair point." Rory conceded. "But you should've told me that you thought you were pregnant. I'm a nurse, I'm good with pregnancy!"

Amy just smirked, walking over to hug him. "Not, as it turns out, that good! So can you stop being stupid?"

Rory smirked back at her, picking her up and spinning her around as Lyra re-entered the TARDIS. "Uh, no. Never. I'm never ever going to stop being stupid."

The Doctor briefly caught Lyra's eye as she walked through the door, and he noticed she looked conflicted. He shook off his concern and started his usual dance around the console. "So. This little girl, it's all about her. Who was she? Or we could just go off and have some adventures. Anyone in the mood for adventures? 'Cause I am. You only live once."

When the Doctor made his fleeting comment, Amy and Rory shared a glance, their thoughts on the future at that lake in Utah. The Doctor didn't see this, though, as he was watching his scanner. He was running a pregnancy scan on Amy and what he found just made his concern grow, The results flickered back and forth between positive and negative.


	7. Epilogue

It had been about an hour since the Doctor had suggested an adventure, but Amy and Rory, being only human, had decided to go get some sleep. Lyra wasn't tired so she chose to explore the TARDIS for a while. Exploring alone allowed her time to think on the choice River had laid before her. After a while, though, Lyra got lost, so she worked her way back through the maze-like corridors trying to find the control room.

When she found her way back to the top of the stairs that led down into the – now almost empty – control room, she hesitated. The Doctor stood there, his back to her, looking at the scanner. Lyra couldn't see properly what the Doctor was reading, but that's because her attention was on the alien himself. She hoped, if she looked at him long enough, she'd become more certain that her choice was the right one.

"You know," the Doctor said, "some say it's rude to stare." he finished, turning to smile at Lyra. "But those are the boring people, eh?" After a pause, he asked, "Anything I can help you with?"

Lyra stuffed her hands into her pockets, walking down the steps. "River and I spoke…"

The Doctor already knew this, but he sensed the blonde newcomer needed a small nudge to continue. "Oh?"

Lyra sat on the jump seat. "She said I had two choices. I could stay, and try to find out why I'm here. Or I can go back home, pretend none of this ever happened. Pretend I never met you, or Amy, or Rory, or River…" she explained.

The Doctor listened intently, an echo of sadness in his eyes as he watched Lyra speak. "And? Have you made a decision?"

Lyra stood again, slowly walking around the console, gently running her hand along the edge. "This has been the scariest experience of my life. I've seen danger and heartache, felt fear and uncertainty. And I've run. Far too much. Honestly, there's a preposterous amount of running." Lyra thought she saw a look of nostalgia flicker past the Doctor's eyes, but she ignored it and pushed on. "It has been the single most terrifying experience of my life." she repeated. After a pause, she added. "And I've loved every minute of it."

Lyra scoffed at herself. "What does that say about me, eh? That I could find everything I've just described, your dangerous lifestyle, fun! I'd say it makes me insane, but you've got Rory, and Amy, and River… and all the others that came before them." She gave another pause. "'Cause we're not the first, are we? We're just more in a long line of people you've whisked away for a life of danger and adventure. If I'm insane, they are too, and there's no way that many people are insane." Lyra noted. She briefly considered that life with the Doctor is what sends people insane, but she shook off that thought pretty quickly.

The Doctor followed Lyra around the console, admiring how she absentmindedly stroked it. When she picked up on the running, the Doctor's mind went back to Messaline, and Jenny and Donna. But he pushed those thoughts aside before they could take hold and send him into a nostalgic depression. As Lyra listed all of the reasons she shouldn't stay, the Doctor's hearts pounded in his chest. He didn't want this for her, not for Lyra, not anymore. He wanted her to go back home and live a normal, human life. But a part of him yearned for Lyra to say yes. To say she would stay.

Which is why his spirits lifted considerably when she said the whole experience was fun. Maybe, just maybe, he had hope of holding onto her. He suppressed a laugh when she suggested she was insane. Of course she was insane, and so were Amy, Rory and River. Life on the TARDIS did that to a person, but it was the good kind of insane. Another look of admiration appeared on the Doctor's face when Lyra guessed that more had come before them. Oh, she was clever. But of course, the Doctor knew that. When she finished speaking, the Doctor raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "So?" he pressed. "What have you decided?"

Lyra met the Doctor's eyes. "There's something about me." she told him, and the Doctor's expression fell. "Something you're not telling me, and I want to know what it is."

The Doctor sighed, moving to fiddle with the controls. "I can't, Lyra…" he murmured. "Not right now…"

Lyra moved so she was right next to him. "And I don't need to know right now." she assured him. "All I need, right now, is to know that you'll tell me someday. Because if you can't promise me that, then there's really no point in me staying, is there?" she asked. "I said River gave me a choice… But it's not my choice… It's yours."

The Doctor looked down at Lyra, a strange smile appearing on his face. He raised his hand, placing it gently against her cheek. "Oh, Lyra… My magnificent Lyra… You have my word that I will explain everything… when the time is right." he promised.

As the Doctor moved his hand up to her cheek, Lyra wanted to step back, to turn and run. But she didn't. She stayed firmly in place, accepting the gesture. When he made his vow, a genuine smile lit up Lyra's face. Her choice was made, and she knew it was the right one. After a pause, she said, "Where's my room, then?"

OoOoOo

In a dark New York alleyway, six months after the moon landing, a homeless man was rummaging around in the bins, trying to find something valuable, or maybe even an unhealthy snack. When he heard a clatter behind him, he turned to see a young girl emerge from behind a dumpster, shivering and looking ill. "Are you okay?" he asked her. "Little girl, are you okay?"

The little girl, who was the same girl from the astronaut suit, stumbled weakly towards the man. "It's all right. It's quite all right." she told him, sounding even weaker than she looked. "I'm dying. But I can fix that. It's easy really. See?" she said, holding out her hands. They started to glow with regeneration energy, and the man quickly stumbled backwards as the orange energy grew brighter. The girl threw her arms out to the side, the regeneration fully taking hold, and the man fled from the alley, scared and confused.


End file.
